


Blood Ties

by SaneCharlie



Category: Exalted
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Gen, I posted it elsewhere first but I figured hey I have this AO3 account, demons and monsters and undead, these people speak in kind of a heightened way but it is exalted after all, this was one of my first fanfics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 14:58:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14834477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaneCharlie/pseuds/SaneCharlie





	Blood Ties

Mutant pirates swarmed over the deck, their gills closing and opening, their swords flashing in the sun as they slashed into flesh. The crew were strong and young and reasonably skilled, but the pirates burst up from the sea in huge numbers, and their blades quickly overcame those of the surprised crewmen.  
A pair of red-headed cabin girls cowered down on the deck, unnoticed momentarily. But that couldn't last. A pirate's gaze turned their way, and one of them snatched up a fallen sword – the other girl shouted “No, don't!” and clutched for her sister's arm, but it was already out of reach.  
The pirate stalked over, a lazy and confident grin splitting her face. She swung her sword slowly at the girl, who blocked it with a shuddering in her arms. The blade swung at her again, a little faster, and this time she barely blocked it.  
The third attack was a stab, and she only noticed it as it plunged through her stomach.  
She heard a nasty chuckle as she slid to the deck, into a spreading pool of her own blood. The noise of the battle faded, and though she was afraid for her sister she couldn't even turn her head to see if she was okay.  
Something came to her then. A feeling of power, cold and empty, a power of blood and ashes.  
The power sat with her a moment, and then there came a voice.  
 _So far West. How these things can roam. Hello there, girl._  
She bled some more on the deck.  
 _I see you are dying. That must be disappointing. Oh, and it's quite a wound you have been dealt, isn't it? Dear me, how dreadful._  
She made no comment.  
 _Tell me, my dear, what would you give for a second chance? The opportunity and the strength to destroy those who have destroyed you?_  
She thought of the pirates, of the playful way she had been murdered. She thought of the crew, nice enough people despite her place at the bottom of the hierarchy. And she thought of what might be happening to her sister, where she couldn't see. Anything, she thought.  _I would do anything.  
Then we have a deal._  
The power flooded into her. Her wound closed, her limbs filled with strength, and she stood. The noise of the battle, violent and clamouring, came back to her in a rush.  
Acting on new instinct, she reached down towards the pool of her blood. Darkness congealed in and around her hand and stretched down to the red puddle, which leaped up and joined with it. A flick, a flourish, and she held an enormous blade, black as starless night and serrated with her own blood.  
She turned, a suddenly dark and foreboding figure in the centre of the deck, and saw her sister gripped by the throat, in the hand of the same pirate who had dealt her a deadly blow.  
Justly, that was the first pirate to feel the edge of her new weapon. The jagged red edge slid through her as though there were nothing more to her body than mist, and the blood that sprayed out of the enormous wound joined with the sword, adding further spines to its vicious edge.  
She spared a glance for her sister, covered in her aggressor's blood but safe, clutching her throat on the deck. Then she turned again to gaze at the battle.  
Everything had almost fallen quiet, as the last members of the crew died and the pirates faced their new foe. A moment of peace, as wind whistled around ropes and sails, and victims gurgled their last breaths.  
It was the newly-Exalted girl who broke the stillness, with a lunge and a strike almost too fast to see. Again her sword tore through an enemy, again the blood flowed to augment its power, again the body fell in pieces to the deck. She weaved into and through the crowd of pirates, slashing her weapon left and right. Her enemies fought back, swinging their swords at her desperately, but she was untouchable, blocking attacks and returning them in smooth, clean movements.  
All too soon, the battle was over, her foes dead all around her. She returned her blade to nothingness, its blood submitting once more to gravity. She inspected the ship, then, looking for the sister she had fought to save, but where she had been there was nothing, only a pirate's corpse.  
 _Come to me,_  said the voice.  _You have proven your abilities, now it is time to pay for them. Turn this ship to the northwest. I am sending someone to meet you._  
With no better options, she did as she was told.  
  
The year was ending, and Calibration approached rapidly. People became a little more devout in response, leaving what offerings they could for their ancestors and for local gods, in the hopes of securing safety through the darkness.  
One woman, however, walked the cobbled street under the fading moon without a care, the buildings looming above her. She didn't concern herself with anything that might be lurking on the streets at night – she knew that whatever was out there could never be more threatening than she was.  
The arrows that streaked out of the night came, then, as a complete surprise. Even with the aid of her dark power, she barely avoided them, sliding ghost-like between their barbs. Her eyes scanned the rooftops, searching eagerly for signs of her foolish attackers. When someone stepped out of the darkness on the street and walked towards her, her frozen heart managed almost to feel shocked.  
It was her sister.  
She was changed. The famished, fragile girl had become a strong woman bearing a large sword and looking as though she knew how to use it. Her glare was impressive, and the fact that she kept it when faced with the power in front of her was even more so.  
“You are stronger than when I saw you last.”  
The woman nodded behind her sword. “I am. I've had to be. Following you across the world, I couldn't afford to be weak.”  
The sinister one nodded. “I approve. But this is a wasted effort. Even with your pitiful force of archers, you cannot defeat me. There is no way.”  
“I'm not so certain! You are outside a shadowland, you are alone. There are more of us than you have seen. Don't be so arrogant, big sister.”  
The monster raised a polite finger. “You no longer have a sister. She was slain by pirates. I am the Bloody Blade Mistress, and that is what you will call me.”  
“I will never call you by that title. You are my sister, and you always will be.”  
“As you wish,” said the Mistress. And with barely a movement she summoned her sword into her hand. It whipped a shard of blood out into the dark, and there was a scream. Out of a shadow fell a man, his sword dropping onto the cobblestones from limp fingers.  
“I too have become stronger since our parting. My master has taught me to use my power well. There is no possibility that you could threaten me. Give up, allow me to pass, and I will not kill all of your followers.”  
Tears of rage were in her eyes, but still the woman would not stand down.  
“Very well, then. Attack me, if you wish.”  
At that, another volley of arrows flew from the buildings, ricocheting off the dark blade. Suddenly, though, her sister was in close, swinging the mere mortal blade against her huge magical one. The attack was easy enough to block, but then came another, and another. A sound behind her made her turn, and just in time, as a short blade stabbed at her, its wielder wild-eyed. She thoughtlessly batted it aside, gutting the woman in the same movement.  
“I am impressed that you were able to track me this far.”  
“A trail of corpses across Creation?” she spat. “I would have to be a blind idiot to lose you. I almost thought you wanted me to catch up!”  
More troops now advanced from their places in the shadows, their blades small and dull, not sufficient to really threaten her. They advanced all the same, jabbing at her, and as she cut them down she had to admire their courage.  
Until it ran out. She ripped her sword through yet another enemy and it was as if they all decided at once that they had done enough. Dropping their swords, the thugs scattered, fleeing into the night.  
She turned back to her sister, to find her standing a few paces back. The significance of this became evident just too late, as yet another volley shot down at her. A swipe of her blade disposed of most, but she'd become careless, the fight and the energy of life suffusing the area draining her more than she cared to admit. Three of the shots made it past, and sunk deeply into her pallid flesh.  
She grunted.  
Her sister smiled grimly, and stepped in once more, swinging her blade downwards. But she wasn't finished quite yet. The mighty black and red blade shot up, and as the two swords connected there was a flash of energy, vile power that dissolved the attacking sword completely.  
The Mistress rose. “Now you see,” she hissed. “No matter how strong you have become, no matter the force you bring against me, you cannot possibly-”  
A knife, quickly drawn and even more quickly used, sunk into her belly, and her sister pulled their bodies close together to wedge it in deeper. The Mistress was too shocked to respond, or even to speak, as she heard her sister's last word.  
“FIRE!”  
A final volley stitched their bodies together, connecting them as they died.


End file.
